Ouch, only, DESERVED for the people it's pointed at (as opposed to the people it is in sympathy of)...

Of course, there do exist folk who are at least as much better than a pet rock than a pet rock is better than certain excuses for parents. (Yes, Mama, I am looking at you.) (serves her up a bowl of chunky matzoh ball soup, because one HONOURS one's mama regardless of the genetics.)

Picturing this poem making the rounds at the school. Pinned inside lockers, taped to the outside of lockers, on teachers' doors, and so on... Not to bother Jules, but to make the point that abuse is SUBTLE sometimes, and it takes people willing to SPOT IT as well as stand up to it.

>> Picturing this poem making the rounds at the school. Pinned inside lockers, taped to the outside of lockers, on teachers' doors, and so on... <<

*WHOP* *stamp of canon approval*

>>Not to bother Jules, but to make the point that abuse is SUBTLE sometimes, and it takes people willing to SPOT IT as well as stand up to it. <<

I think this would be good to explore. Some types of abuse are obvious, easy to spot and prove. If someone comes to school with bruises, people are going to notice, as Lawrence found out the hard way. But if it's something like gaslighting or character assassination, then statistically speaking bystanders will side with the abuser. Riley was an example of someone trying to build up enough of a case against thon's parents that the authorities would take it seriously -- and they were lying about thon's whole body.

Perhaps someone will host workshops, probably divided into teen and adult sessions, on how to recognize some of the subtler forms of abuse and what to do if you suspect it. In this case, most of Rachel's nonsense could have been blocked if people simply refused to be her flying monkeys.

Of the four notes left on the truck, one was a 'flying monkey' statement. That's pretty typical right now, since it's less likely that those involved in taking depositions will BLAB-- because of the ages of Bennett when he left and Jules when she tried to go for a direct attack. HERE, yeah, people let things slip and shrug off the violation of privacy.

>> Of the four notes left on the truck, one was a 'flying monkey' statement. <<

>_<

>> That's pretty typical right now, since it's less likely that those involved in taking depositions will BLAB-- because of the ages of Bennett when he left and Jules when she tried to go for a direct attack.<<

That makes sense. There's very good grounds for charging her with assorted counts of abuse.

>> HERE, yeah, people let things slip and shrug off the violation of privacy.<<

It happens in T-America too -- look at Shiv -- but much less often, and other people are more likely to disapprove and make an issue of it.